Pistol having movable barrel

ABSTRACT

The pistol of this invention incorporates a fire control group of an enblock type removably mounted in a receiver and having a housing extremity engaging the receiver at a location remote from a hammer pivot axis, a slide reciprocably mounted on the receiver, and a barrel operated by the slide and having a downwardly projecting lug, the lug being received for limited captured movement in the frame between longitudinally spaced vertically offset limit positions, and a pair of camming pins longitudinally spaced apart in the receiver to extend laterally across the path of movement of the barrel lug and serving both to guide and stop barrel movement relative to the slide in timed relation to its movements.

Waited tates atem 1 [111 3,756,120 Roy Sept. 4, 1973 [5 PiSTOL HAVINGMOVABLE BARREL 2,664,786 1 1954 Guisasola 89/163 [75] Inventor: RobertE. Roy, East Haven, Conn.

I Primary ExaminerStephen C. Bentley [73] Assrgnee: goltIpetuztrgzOperatmg Corp., William Reinsmith ew or [22] Filed: Dec. 13,1971 57 ABSTRACT PP N04 207,254 The pistol of this inventionincorporates a fire control Related Application Data group of an endblock type removably mounted in a re- [62] Division of Ser No 864 609Oct 8 1969 ceiver and having a housing extremity engaging the receiverat a location remote from a hammer pivot axis, lide reci rocabl mountedon the receiver and a 52 U.S.Cl. a S E Hm Cl if gg barrel operated bythe slide and having a downwardly p j g g the g being received forlimited [58] Field of Search 89/ 163, l981,9/1l9956, tured movement inthe frame between longitudinally spaced vertically offset limitpositions, and a pair of camming pins longitudinally spaced apart in there- [56] References Cited ceiver to extend laterally across the path ofmovement UNITED STATES PATENTS of the barrel lug and serving both toguide and stop bar- 2,846,925 8/1958 Norman 89/196 rel movement relativeto the slide in timed relation to 1 Charron its movements 3,504,5944/1970 Greeley 89/163 2,115,041 4/1938 Obregon 89/195 5 Claims, 7Drawing Figures Patented Sept. 4,1973

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Sept. 4, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 PISTOL HAVINGMOVABLE BARREL This application is a division of applicant's priorcopending patent application Ser. No. 864,609 filed Oct. 8, 1969 and nowUS. Pat. No. 3,682,040.

This invention generally relates to firearms, particularly automaticpistols, and specifically concerns a socalled en bloc fire control groupand a barrel guide and stop mechanism for a pistol of a type having amovable barrel operated by a slide.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a firearm having animproved en bloc fire control group which not only is self-locating inoperative position in a receiver but is also self-restrained thereinagainst undesired movement during trigger actuation and pivotal hammermovements.

Another object of this invention is to provide such an improved firecontrol group particularly suited for quick and easy mass productionwithout close tolerance requirements while yet minimizing any freetrigger travel.

A further object of this invention is to provide a pistol having asignificantly improved barrel guide and stop mechanism for preciselyengaging and disengaging a movable barrel relative to its operatingslide in timed relation to the movements of the slide.

Still another object of this invention is to provide such a barrel guideand stop mechanism of a simplified.

construction which not only can be easily mass produced to criticaltolerances at moderate cost, but is also of a rugged construction forreliable operation over an extensive service life.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improvedpistol having a fire control group and barrel guide and stop mechanismfeaturing a minimum number of compact parts in a relatively light handgun having an all steel frame construction for large calibers and ahigh-capacity magazine.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter.

A better understanding of the objects, advantages, features, propertiesand relationships of this invention will be obtained from the followingdetailed description and accompanying drawings which set forth anillustrative embodiment and are indicative of the ways in which theprinciples of this invention are employed.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly broken away and partly in section, showinga preferred embodiment of a pistol incorporating this invention with thebarrel guide andstop mechanism in a forward limit position;

FIG. 2 is a side view, partly broken away and partly in section, similarto FIG. 1, and showing the barrel guide and stop mechanism in a rearlimit position;

FIG. 3 is a side view, partly broken away, showing an en bloc firecontrol housing;

FIG. 4 is a side view, partly broken away, showing a portion of thereceiver forming a pocket for the fire control housing;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a barrel guide and stop member incombination with a slide stop-open latch;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged schematic view of a firing mechanism of thisinvention at the instant of hammer release; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged section view taken generally along line 7-7 ofFIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, an automatic pistol l0 embodyingthis invention is shown generally comprising a frame or receiver 12,barrel l4 and operating slide 16 suitably supported for reciprocablesliding movement on the receiver 12. During manual cocking and duringautomatic recoil upon firing, the slide I6 moves rearwardly to an extentlimited by an abutment wall 18 on the receiver 12. A shoulder 20 insidethe slide 16 engages an enlarged rear barrel portion 22 to drive thebarrel l4 rearwardly with the slide 16 from its forward position shownin FIG. 1. The barrel 14 disengages from the slide 16 during itsrearward movement and is arrested at an intermediate point in the travelof the slide 16 to provide for cartridge extraction and ejection and tostrip a live round from a magazine (not shown) to be chambered withinthe barrel 14 upon the return forward movement of the slide 16 under theforce of its action spring 24.

Illustration and detailed descriptions of conventional features such asthe barrel chamber, extractor, slide ejection port, safety mechanisms,ejector and magazine have been omitted since they are not essential toan understanding of this invention.

A firing mechanism hammer 26 is cocked by the slide 16 during itsrearward movement. The pistol 10 utilizes a well known firing operationwherein pivoting its trigger 28 rearwardly about a pivot pin 30 moves atrigger bar 32 forwardly for actuating the hammer 26. Both single anddouble action firing mechanism movements are provided for in the pistol10 of this invention. In a single action movement the hammer 26 ismanually cocked by its thumbpiece 34 and then released from cockedposition by a trigger squeeze. In a double action movement the hammer 26is both cocked and fired by a single trigger squeeze.

The trigger bar 32 has an inwardly directed rear finger 36 suitablystepped and configured to form a double action shoulder 38 and a searengaging face 40 (FIG. 6). During a double action movement, the doubleaction shoulder 38 engages a double action hammer sear 42 to pivothammer 26 from its at rest position (FIG. 1) into a fully cookedposition, such that upon further trigger pull, a tail of the finger 36contacts the hammer 26 inside its double action notch 44 to disengagethe trigger bar 32 to drop the hammer 26.

coincidentally with the disengagement of the trigger bar 32 at theinstant of release (shown in FIG. 6), the sear engaging face 40 of thetrigger bar 32 engages a single action sear 46, pivoting it clockwiseout of the path of movement of the hammer 26 to avoid unintendedengagement with its full cock and half cock notches 48, 50. The hammer26 falls freely into fired position, pivoting about its fixed pin 52under the force of its main spring 54 and strikes the firing pin 56 tofire a cartridge. During such hammer drop, a projecting disconnectorhammer surface 58 engages the trigger bar 32 to drive it downwardly toautomatically disengage the bar 32 from the single action sear 46.

Thereafter the single action sear 46 is automatically returned toengagethe hammer 26 under the biasing force of its torsion spring 60,and the trigger 28 and its bar 32 are returned to their illustrated atrest positions (FIG. 1) under the bias of a common torsion return spring62 which continuously urges the trigger 28 forwardly and the trigger bar32 upwardly into contact with the hammer 26.

The hammer 26 also may be manually cocked to engage the single actionsear 46 in the full cock hammer notch 48. (As previously noted, thehammer 26 is also placed in this condition by recoil operation of theslide 16 upon firing.) The trigger bar 32 then moves forwardlyresponsive to trigger actuation to engage the single action sear 46.During trigger pull the bar 32 moves in a path generally parallel to thehammer surface in its double action notch 44 to drive the single actionsear 46 out of engagement with the hammer 26. Upon release, hammer 26drops responsive to a positive force applied along the length of itsstrut 64 under the bias of the compressed main spring 54 shown coiledabout a plunger 66 having a recessed head 68 forming a seat for thehammer strut 64.

Various firing mechanism components mentioned above have beenincorporated in a unitary fire control group 70 of an en bloc typeparticularly suited to be quickly and easily assembled and removed forfacile field maintenance as a single-piece unit relative to the receiver12.

A characteristic problem with en bloc type fire control groups concernstheir fitting with the receiver. Simply stated, en bloc fire controlgroups of the known prior art are either too tightly wedged or tooloosely seated in the receiver. if the en bloc fire control group is tootightly fitted, anticipated advantages desired in quick and easydisassembly and reassembly are replaced by frustration. In the absenceof a construction permitting a relatively loose fit, close manufacturingtolerances must be adhered to or hand fitting must be employed,approaches which are neither practical or desirable in a mass productionoperation and which have a tendency to become loosened and unstable.Loosely fitted en bloc fire control groups exhibit a characteristicrocking action in directions of hammer pivoting, and it may be necessaryto resort to an undesired double military pull to take up slop and playin the firing mechanism through a substantial portion of the triggersqueeze before a crisp trigger pull is reached just before firing. inaddition, attempts to precisely locate en bloc fire control groups bythe use, e.g., of cross pin connections extending laterally of thereceiver have resulted in undesirably increasing the size of the firingmechanism components to an unmanageably large extent, particularly whenthe versatility of both single and double action movements of theabove-described firing mechanism is desired.

To overcome such problems while providing a crisp single stage triggerpull to release the hammer and yet maintaining th flexibility of bothsingle and double action movements in an exceptionally compact design,the en bloc fire control group 70 of this invention is particularlysuited to be positively located in the receiver 12 with a relativelyloose fit while stabilizing the fire control group 70 a sufficientdistance from its hammer pivot axis X-X to minimize or eliminate anytendency toward unintended movement of the fire control group 70. Thelatter is provided a housing 72 having pins 52, 74 and 76 fixed thereinfor supporting the hammer 26, single action sear 46 and its spring 60for pivotal movement, and additionally supporting the hammer strut 64,main spring 54 and its associated plunger 66 in a compact unitaryassembly for quick and easy insertion and removal relative to thereceiver 12 of the pistol 10.

More specifically, an elongated downwardly projecting housing extensionis shown including a plug 80 and a tubular portion 82 within which themain spring 54 is received with one end seated against a bottom shoulderof the head 68 of the plunger 66. An opposite end of the main spring 54seats against the housing extension plug 80. The main spring 54 ispreloaded and exerts a continuous force on the plug 80 to maintain itsradial pin 84 against unintended movement relative to an L shaped slot86 formed in the end of the tubular housing portion 82.

To locate the fire control group within the receiver hand grip 88, thefree rear finger 36 of the trigger bar 32 need only be positioned withina window (not shown) in the housing 72, and the fire control housing 72is then simply inserted into its pocket 90 within the receiver 12. Arear wall 92 of the housing 72 and a front face 94 of a side projection96 on the housing 72 are provided bearing support by surface 98, 100,respectively, within the pocket 90 of the receiver 12, and the plugprojecting downwardly beyond the end of the tubular portion 82 is fittedwithin a bottom opening 102 in the hand grip 88. Thus, the plug 80 notonly serves as a pilot to precisely locate the fire control group 70within the receiver 12, but also serves to restrain the fire controlgroup 70 against unintended fore and aft oscillatory movement within thereceiver 12. Upward movement of the fire control group 70 is restrainedby the slide 16.

Any tendency of the fire control group 70 to rock during hammer cocking,e.g., thus will be effectively restrained by the engagement of thehousing extension plug 80 and the receiver 12 to minimize any freetrigger travel. By stabilizing the lower extremity of the housingextension at the bottom of the receiver 12, the effective lever arm tothe hammer pivot axis XX is of maximum length and only a minimal amountof force is transmitted between the housing extension plug 80 and thereceiver 12 which additionally minimizes any parts wear and limits anyangular motion of the housing 72 in directions of hammer pivoting to anabsolute minimum for a given tolerance.

In addition to providing both single and double action movements, thedescribed en bloc fire control group 70 is of exceptionally compactconstruction permitting use of a minimum number of working parts and alarge capacity magazine of, say, fifteen rounds to be loaded in themagazine well 104 of the hand grip 88. Moreover, the pistol 10 can beprovided an all steel frame in a large caliber such as a 9 mm or a .45caliber and yet be of relatively light weight, in the order ofthirty-five ounces or less. Due to the provision of the en bloc firecontrol group 70 of this invention, no need exists for a separate walldefining the magazine well 104 within the hand grip 88. Further cost andweight reductions are achieved by utilizing the forwardmost surface 106of the fire control housing 72 (extending downwardly along the housingextension to the bottom of the hand grip 88) to define a rear wall ofthe magazine well 104 when the fire control group 70 is located withinthe receiver 12.

The en bloc fire control group 70 additionally locks grip panels 108,108 in place on the hand grip 88 without any need whatsoever for screwsor similar conventional fasteners. Dovetailed channels are formed onopposed edges of the hand grip 88, such as at 110, 112, and alongopposed lower hand grip edges as shown at 114 for positioning the grippanels 108, 108 which then can be simply slid into the dovetailedchannels which maintain the grip panels against forward and downwardmovement. The grip panels 108, 108 are removably locked in position andlimited against rearward movement by outwardly projecting ribs 1 16, 116on opposed sides of the tubular portion 82 of the housing extension,simply upon positioning the fire control group 70 within the receiver12. i

For precisely locating the barrel 14 during reciprocation of its slide16 for continuously reliable high performance operation, a positivebarrel guide and stop mechanism 120 is provided of a significantlyimproved construction particularly suited for quick and easy massproduction and free of manufacturing difficulties even though extremelyclose tolerance requirements are established for precision barrelmovement between limit positions.

More specifically, a barrel lug 122 projects downwardly from theenlarged rear barrel portion 22 in a vertical plane, extending throughthe longitudinal center line of the barrel 14, for limited capturedmovement between a pair of camming pins 124, 126 operatively fixed toextend laterally in longitudinally spaced relation across the receiver12. The barrel lug 122 has front and rear abutments 128, 130 of arcuateshape conforming to confronting peripheral surfaces of the front andrear camming pins 124, 126 which are of circular cross section. The rearcamming pin 126 is fixed rearwardly of the lug 122 and offset slightlydownwardly of the conforming rear lug abutment 130 in its forward barrelposition, shown in FIG. 1, in interfering relation to its path ofrearward movement.

Upon movement of the slide 16 retracting the barrel 14, the forwardcamming pin 124 supports a flat contact face 134 on the barrel lug 122extending between its front abutment 128 and a forwardly and upwardlyextending inclined shoulder 136 on the leading face of the barrel lug122. After the contact face 134 clears the forward pin 124, the rearabutment 130 engages a lower portion of the rear pin 126 which cams thebarrel l4 downwardly to an extent limited by full contact engagementbetween the confronting surfaces of the lug abutment 130 and rearcamming pin 126, thereby establishing a lowered rear limit position(FIG. 2) for the barrel 14 in disengaged relation to the slide 16 topermit its continued uninterrupted rearward movement to its rearwardlimit position for cartridge extraction, ejection and chambering.Accordingly, the rear camming pin 126 not only serves to guide thebarrel 14 downwardly to disengage the slide 16, but also assistsreceiver rails 138 in stopping rearward barrel movement.

The forward camming pin 124 is fixed forwardly of and below the rear pin126 to provide a relatively large area of intersurface contact with thebarrel lug 122 to positively guide and stop the barrel 14 in a raisedforward limit position, shown in FIG. 1, in locked engagement with theslide 16.

The forward pin 124 guides the barrel l4 upwardly into reengagement withthe slide 16 upon its return forward movement. As the slide 16 movesforwardly, engaging the rear of the barrel 14, the forward pin 124,which is in interfering relation to the path of forward travel of thebarrel lug shoulder 136, cams the barrel 14 upwardly in timed relationto the forward movement of the slide 16 to position the enlarged rearbarrel portion 22 between slide shoulders 20, 140. Thus, the forwardcamming pin 124 not only guides forward barrel movement by itsengagement with the shoulder 136 and the contact face 134, but alsoeffectively stops forward movement of both the barrel l4 and slide 16 inoperative position with the pistol 10 conditioned for the firing of thenext live round.

The circular cross-sectional construction of the camming pins 124, 126enhances their being very accurately and easily positioned in placeduring a simplified mass production operation virtually free of anymanufacturing difficulties while yet meeting critical tolerancerequirements. Two precisely located holes are simply drilled in thereceiver 12 for placement of the pins, an operation which can berepeatedly performed rapidly and accurately.

In addition to stopping and maintaining the slide 16 with the barrel 14in its raised forward limit position, the camming pin 124 also mayprovide additional functions, e.g., as a pivot axis for a slidestop-open latch 142. The forward pin 124 is shown detented in thereceiver 12 against undesired lateral and pivotal movement by aspring-biased plunger 144 projecting rearwardly from the hollow guiderod 146 to engage a recessed seat 148 in the pin 124 to continuouslybias a rearwardly extending arm 150 of the slide stop-open latch 142counterclockwise, urging the latch 142 into a lowered position against abottom surface 152 of a window 154 in the receiver 12. Upon extractionand ejection of the last cartridge, the latch 142 is conventionallyactuated by a magazine follower 156 to move the latch 142 upwardly toengage a notched surface 158 in the slide 16 to prevent its returnforward movement under empty magazine conditions.

It will be understood that a suitably spring-biased, slide stop-openlatch could also be provided on the rear camming pin 126 if desired.

The forward pin 124 additionally may be used to serve as a takedown pinto permit quick and easy disassembly and reassembly of the barrel 14from the slide 16. An intermediate portion of the pin 124 is shownpartially cut away to form a recessed shoulder 160 of about the width ofthe barrel lug 122. The shoulder 160 would normally face forwardly inoperative position. When it is desired to disassemble the slide 16 andbarrel 14 from the receiver 12, the latch thumbpiece is simply pulledlaterally outwardly to unseat the detent plunger 144, and the arm 150 isrotated to position the recessed shoulder 160 to provide clearance forthe barrel lug 122 and permit removal of the barrel l4 and slide 16.

In addition to the multiple functions and advantages provided by theabove-described en bloc fire control group 70 and positive barrel guideand stop mechanism 120, the described structure is particularly suitedto provide a dependable, high performance, quality pistol 10 which isquickly and easily assembled and manufactured at significant savings ofcost and time. Excellent fitting and stabilization of the en bloc firecontrol group 70 is achieved without close tolerance requirements, whileprecision placement of the barrel camming pins 124, 126'is readilyprovided for, free of manufacturing difficulties even in a massproduction operation.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, variousmodifications, adaptations and variations of the foregoing specificdisclosure can be made without departing from the teachings of thepresent invention.

I claim:

1. A pistol comprising a frame, a barrel on the frame, a reciprocableoperating slide on the frame for moving the barrel relative to the framebetween a forward limit position wherein the barrel is in lockedengagement with the slide, and a rear limit position vertically offsetfrom the forward position and wherein the barrel is disengaged from theslide, and a barrel guide and stop mechanism connecting the barrel tothe frame and including a lug projecting from the barrel and first andsecond laterally extending camming pins, the camming pins being ofcircular cross section and fixed to the frame in the path of movement ofthe barrel lug and mounted in longitudinally spaced relation in theframe, the first camming pin establishing said forward limit position,the second camming pin establishing said rear limit position and beingin parallel and relatively raised rearwardly disposed relation to thefirst camming pin to position the barrel in relatively lowered relationto its forward limit position, the pins being spaced apart alongitudinal distance greater than the maximum dimension of a dependingportion of the lug disposed between the pins to confine the barrel lugfor captured movement therebetween.

2. The pistol of claim 1 wherein said first pin is releasably fixed tothe frame for disassembly and reassembly of the barrel and sliderelative to the frame.

3. The pistol of claim 1 further including a slide stopopen latchconnected to one of said first and second camming pins, said one pinproviding a pivot axis in the frame supporting the latch for pivotalmovement.

4. A pistol comprising a frame, a barrel on the frame, a reciprocableoperating slide on the frame for moving the barrel relative to the framebetween a forward limit position wherein the barrel is in lockedengagement with the slide, and a rear limit position vertically offsetfrom the forward position and wherein the barrel is disengaged from theslide, and a barrel guide and stop mechanism connecting the barrel tothe frame and including first and second laterally extending cammingpins mounted in longitudinally spaced relation in the frame, the firstand second camming pins each serving to guide the barrel between saidforward and rear limit positions and maintaining the barrel and frame incooperative assembly while permitting limited captured movement of thebarrel relative to the frame, the barrel guide and stop mechanismfurther including a lug projecting from the barrel and having front andrear abutments on the barrel lug respectively engageable with the firstand second camming pins, the first and second camming pins being ofcircular cross section and fixed to the frame in the path of movement ofthe barrel lug, said first pin establishing the forward limit positionfor the barrel, and said second pin establishing the rear limit positionfor the barrel in lower vertical relation to its forward limit position,the barrel lug having a generally flat contact surface extendingforwardly of the front abutment, and a shoulder extending forwardly ofthe flat contact surface in inclined continuation therewith, the firstpin providing bearing support for the flat contact surface of the barrellug during reciprocable movement thereof.

5. The pistol of claim 4 wherein the barrel and slide are cooperativelylocked in engagement in said forward limit position.

1. A pistol comprising a frame, a barrel on the frame, a reciprocableoperating slide on the frame for moving the barrel relative to the framebetween a forward limit position wherein the barrel is in lockedengagement with the slide, and a rear limit position vertically offsetfrom the forward position and wherein the barrel is disengaged from theslide, and a barrel guide and stop mechanism connecting the barrel tothe frame and including a lug projecting from the barrel and first andsecond laterally extending camming pins, the camming pins being ofcircular cross section and fixed to the frame in the path of movement ofthe barrel lug and mounted in longitudinally spaced relation in theframe, the first camming pin establishing said forward limit position,the second camming pin establishing said rear limit position and beingin parallel and relatively raised rearwardly disposed relation to thefirst camming pin to position the barrel in relatively lowered relationto its forward limit position, the pins being spaced apart alongitudinal distance greater than the maximum dimension of a dependingportion of the lug disposed between the pins to confine the barrel lugfor captured movement therebetween.
 2. The pistol of claim 1 whereinsaid first pin is releasably fixed to the frame for disassembly andreassembly of the barrel and slide relative to the frame.
 3. The pistolof claim 1 further including a slide stop-open latch connected to one ofsaid first and second camming pins, said one pin providing a pivot axisin the frame supporting the latch for pivotal movement.
 4. A pistolcomprising a frame, a barrel on the frame, a reciprocable operatingslide on the frame for moving the barrel relative to the frame between aforward limit position wherein the barrel is in locked engagement withthe slide, and a rear limit position vertically offset from the forwardposition and wherein the barrel is disengaged from the slide, and abarrel guide and stop mechanism connecting the barrel to the frame andincluding first and second laterally extending camming pins mounted inlongitudinally spaced relation in the frame, the first and secondcamming pins each serving to guide the barrel between said forward andrear limit positions and maintaining the barrel and frame in cooperativeassembly while permitting limited captured movement of the barrelrelative to the frame, the barrel guide and stop mechanism furtherincluding a lug projecting from the barrel and having front and rearabutments on the barrel lug respectively engageable with the first andsecond camming pins, the first and second camming pins being of circularcross section and fixed to the frame in the path of movement of thebarrel lug, said first pin establishing the forward limit position forthe barrel, and said second pin establishing the rear limit position forthe barrel in lower vertical relation to its forward limit position, thebarrel lug having a generally flat contact surface extending forwardlyof the front abutment, and a shoulder extending forwardly of the flatcontact surface in inclined continuation therewith, the first pinproviding bearing support for the flat contact surface of the barrel lugduring reciprocable movement thereof.
 5. The pistol of claim 4 whereinthe barrel and slide are cooperatively locked in engagement in saidforward limit position.